With #HashtagUnited, has YouTube become the new leading media?

Everybody loves Match of the Day. Football matches, in-depth analysis and banter – what more can you ask for? Well, with a camera and YouTube, many football fans have been able to create their very own take on Match of the Day and make it so much more.

YouTube has become a haven for footballing channels, with the likes of Spencer FC, Copa90 and Filthy Fellas just three of dozens leading the line in the modern era. It has now gone beyond match analysis, YouTube has allowed these individuals to create a wide range of content with no limits, vlogging, creating some crazy challenges, conducting interviews with players and even hosting a football final in Wembley with Legends with #HashtagUnited.

Vloggers have a more relaxed approach compared to traditional media and are viewed as more original to their audience in terms of having editorial freedom with their content. There may be arguments against this, but it certainly ensures content is authentic.

YouTubers are highly influential; some are even celebrities in their own right – Kim K who? They often have a large following and their views can equate to the same as TV shows – Spencer FC has 1.7million subscribers, which is as big as the viewing figures of media mogul Sky Sports on a typical day; staggering, if you think about it.

The rise of YouTube stars has opened the door to brand collaborations and we’re excited to be part of this new chapter. Looking at the football channel category on YouTube you can see how much brands are trying to get on board and make the most of targeting these audiences. Copa90, one of the biggest online football channels, collaborated and took on board Poet & Vujanic, two YouTube vloggers who were gaining a lot of traction online, and they’ve sinced exploded as a real market leader. This collab has proved to be successful, their fan base continues to grow and the channel videos generate 3.6m views and 13.8m minutes on average. This is just one example in a market exploding in fresh talent.

YouTubers becoming their own brands is good news for us because we are able to reach new audiences. There is no one way of appealing to these viewers; YouTubers are often on board for ‘cool’ ideas and having no limits to the content which we can create on Youtube can lead to a berth of out of the ordinary results.

YouTube is a media powerhouse and YouTubers will soon be the new ‘traditional’ media. See you online…